I'm currently looking for paid writing gigs, so if you might want anything written shoot me a message (craighats at hotmail dot com).

In case the contents of this blog don't make it obvious enough, I have something of an affinity for slightly "offbeat" titles, so if there's something out there that few others cover, there's a fair chance I'm at least somewhat up on it.

If there's any sort of (reasonable) inquiry you'd like me to address, please don't hesitate to be in touch.

Below are a handful of recaps and other links (oldest listed first by section), in case you're interested - asterisks mark promoted articles.

Here’s another video of Akai Katana, showing most of the third stage – I dunno, when some ticked-off dude starts summoning trains at me, that’s when I turn around and go home.

My Japanese-literate shmup companions tell me that this page mentions Radirgy Noah Massive, an upcoming port of MileStone’s latest shooter to the 360 – the official page linked from there doesn’t have much on it, but hopefully the “massive” means some extra stuff will be included.

If you noticed a countdown going on Taito’s site, it’s over now – this winter they’re porting Darius Burst from the PSP to the arcades, and adding the subtitle “Another Chronicle”. More than that, they’re going all out: remember the days when Darius games were played on multiple-monitor cabinets? This one will have two of ‘em going simultaneously, as well as support for four players and headphones. I don’t know who came up with this idea, but it’s certainly one of the more ambitious arcade undertakings of late – keep an eye on this channel, which will be broadcasting some more about it on August 6th, the day before location tests begin. Check out some early images in here.

Here are a pair of links you’ll be seeing again later this issue, since each contains both shmup- and fighter-related info: anyways, the first item concerns Lunaria, a horizontal shooter by doujin circle French Bread. It should see daylight at the next Comiket convention in Japan – since the group previously made Bike Banditz, a favorite of mine, I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one. Link Number Two informs us that the XBLA edition of King of Fighters: Sky Stage has been delayed to sometime this fall.

The Strike Witches shooter for the 360 came out this week – while impressions are still a bit scarce, you can watch the game’s opening sequence in the meantime.

I don’t have a direct link for you here, but stupidly rare PS1 compilation Zanac X Zanac was released onto the Japanese PSN this week, for a measly 600 yen to boot. So, Sony, when’ll you actually start sharing the love with the rest of us?

I know that the wait for Raiden Fighters Aces is tough, PAL shmuppers, but take heart – go here to view a trailer, and remind yourself of why it will all be worth it in the end.

It’s been out a few weeks by now, but Gamer Limit just posted its review of Gundemonium Collection, for anyone who still wants to know more about the included games.

Remember Fractured Soul, the DS run-n-gun which has a “normal” version of you running around on one screen and a “ghost” version on the other, as you freely switch between them? Whether you do or not, here’s a new trailer for it – still looking pretty cool, IMO (DToid coverage here. Some more screenshots and impressions of Hard Corps Uprisinghave also arrived for your viewing pleasure – then there’s Friday’s free app, Zombie Shock.

Fans of Assault Suit Valken-type “giant robot” run-n-guns might want to keep tabs on Gigantic Army, another doujin effort set to debut at the next Comiket – a demo is apparently floating around if you want a taste. On an even weirder homebrew frontier stands Shoot First, described by one shmup fellow as Nethack meets Robotron.

Looks like the weapon system for Child of Eden is a little different than that of Rez – you’ve still got a lock-on and a smart bomb, but there’s also a rapid-fire attack in there. When using Kinect you clap to switch between the two “basic” ones, though we’ll have to wait and see how it works on a normal controller.

Nice to have seen a bit of shooter love on the c-blogs this past week: Tubatic comes clean about his love for the genre (you are not alone), while Rider Chop reviews Super Famicom curiosity Cosmo Gang: The Video.

There are a whole slew of figures in this link from Tomopop, featuring characters from the likes of Okamiden and Persona 4, but the real stars here are the shmup sculpts, from Radiant Silvergun, R-Type (check out that Dobkeratops!), Phalanx (nice cockpit detailing) and others. Some additional shmups crafts (including the Silver Hawk from Darius) are scattered in here.

In terms of slightly less extravagant shmup-related handiwork, one shmup forum denizen recently completed work on a custom DUX joystick, complete with artwork signed by one of the HuCast honchos – a few photos have been compiled into a short YouTube video if you want a look.

And because every Tribune issue needs a bit of Space Invaders kitsch, here’s a furniture concept. (DToid coverage here.)

CONFIRMED – yes, Virginia, Street Fighter X Tekken and Tekken X Street Fighter are both happening!…though we won’t be seeing either until 2012, and won’t be hearing much more in detail until April. It’s pretty much what the recent rumors were indicating: each company is developing one game, in the style of its own marquee fighters. Watch a trailer and view some screenshots for the former game here and here – it appears that Capcom is sticking with the Street Fighter IV “inky” art style (and seems to be hinting that Dan is in it, which is probably enough on its own to make me buy it). On the c-blogs RAB reposts the trailer, Dameon Angell offers some thoughts on what’s been seen so far, and new user Peg Pelvis Pete greets us with his feelings about Ono’s presentation during the reveal. If you want to watch the full Comic-Con panel, go here.

Mere hours after last week’s Tribune reported on two new character slots being spotted in the arcade version of Super Street Fighter IV, c-blogger ScrewAttackDestin offered some evidence as to who they’d be, namely Alex from Street Fighter III, and Rolento, originally from Final Fight, but most famous for flaunting Street Fighter’s weapon allowances more than any other competitor I can think of. No idea if console gamers will be getting any of this, but at least we’re guaranteed moar costumez!!1 Of course, some of us are already set on that front.

By the way, if you’re worried about the quality of the 3DS SSF4 port, producer Ono wants to not only convince you that the game wouldn’t have worked on any other portable, but allay your fears altogether – he promises that the gameplay will be the same as the other versions, and that all of the characters will make it. For an early look at how things are going, check out these screens – some accompanying shots of the iPhone edition are included for comparison’s sake. (DToid coverage here and here.)

It’s been sorta overshadowed this past week due to all the Namco/Capcom stuff (and upstaging a game like this is not easy to do), but anyway here are s’moreMarvel vs. Capcom 3 screenshots and a game play vid. Both Joystiq and Siliconera interview the game’s producer on a handful of different related topics, too: depressingly enough, it looks like Gene from God Hand, the entire cast of Rival Schools, and Amingo and Ruby Heart from MvC2 aren’t making appearances. In terms of those who ARE, read some impressions of how Trish and Super Skrull play – meanwhile, the internet continues to insist it’s figured out the full roster, though Capcom insists it’s inaccurate (and offhand I believe them).

Little info is available at this point and we won’t be seeing the finished product for some time, but some sort of Online Edition of Street Fighter III: Third Strike is in the works as well – better start practicing your full parry of Chun-Li’s super!

Here’s that pair of links from up above again, as promised. If you didn’t check them out above, the former indicated that French Bread, which developed the Melty Blood series, is working on a new fighting game – pretty much all we have to go on at this point is a bit of character artwork, so further details will have to wait for now. The latter announces that the XBLA port of King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match has also been delayed: maybe they’re going for the “Tougeki” revision instead?

Some of you are probably already playing it on PS3 or 360, and for everyone else there’s a review or two to read over, but meanwhile the PC version of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift will be out on August 26th in Japan – no word yet on when or if it’s coming here. On stumpier fronts, here are some more screens and a gameplay video of BlayzBloo: Super Melee Brawlers.

If your head hasn’t already exploded due to the overabundance of Scott Pilgrim stuff going on lately, check out this article, which highlights some of the links between the upcoming movie and game, as well as the front page’s blurb from Anamanaguchi, who are doing the music. Also take a gander at the latter’s totally awesome (not really) pre-order bonus.

The bad news: nilcam is abdicating his leadership of the PS3 “Fight Club” ranbat. The not-so-bad news: Zoel is taking over, and starting up a BlazBlue: Continuum Shift tournament. The good news? nilcam’s got something else in the works: behold DreamCancel, a new site to serve high-level King of Fighters players (and others too).

Wry Guy and the Podsumaki cast, meanwhile, just keep on truckin’ – their latest episode is Mortal Kombat-focused, so a Gallagher-esque plastic sheet is recommended for cleanup purposes.

Meanwhile, de BLOO discusses the evolving nature of exhibitory combo videos…and of course embeds some relevant samples. Metallion’s most recent issue of “River City Retro”, on the other hand, lays out some of the references to metal and other music in the Guilty Gear series.

Sure, we all love a good fighter, but where would we be without the occasional god-awful release to laugh at? Enter Salms Classic’s c-blog about the infamous Tattoo Assassins – it may be lousy, but you’ll never find another game that lets you transform your opponent into Whistler’s Mother (seriously, watch one of the embedded videos).

Reporting from Japan’s Wonder Festival, Tomopop lifts the lid on a bunch of King of Fighters figures coming from a single company – Kyo, K’, Mai (of course) and Shingo (yay!) are all on offer.

For some people, Comic-Con is all about cosplay – for Tribune readers, it’s about looking at a few people in mostly-fighting-game-inspired attire. A couple more examples from Japan’s Wonder Fest are here.

A few more screens have appeared for Atelier Rorona – now would someplace actually put the darn thing up for pre-order already?

If it’s okay with you, I’m going to eschew NISA’s ludicrously long localized title in favor of just calling it Zettai Hero – anyway, a bunch of English screenshots are available, and give a bit of insight into the game’s opening scenes and story. A different set with mostly in-battle captures is over here. (DToid coverage here.)

I haven’t played enough of Radiata Stories to say a heckuva lot about it (though I do remember being able to kick lots of things), but fans ought to be pleased to hear that a spiritual sequel of sorts, titled Radiant Historia, is due out on the Japanese DS in November. Oh, and apparently there’s some sort of time travel mechanic in there someplace. Some additional information is here – it appears that the battle system of the original game has been nixed in favor of something along the lines of Enchanted Arms.

Phantom Brave Portable has been confirmed for the PSP – yup, they’re porting it again. This edition is mostly the same as We Meet Again on the Wii, and includes all the stuff added into that one, but also includes a few new character cameos: so far, those are the only extras known.

A load o’ screens has appeared for the PSP Tactics Ogre remake, along with a picture of a new character – a short trailer has hit the ‘net as well.

Atlus’ latestEtrian Odyssey III video short goes into the combat system, along with ways to use it to get rare items from enemies: the next one will introduce you to map-making, probably sometime next week.

In case you’re not aware, some things have been changed in the transition from the original Ys III to Oath in Felghana, which you should be getting excited for – be aware that you do not get a stock of healing items to draw from, but will have to rely on enemy drops for health refills. As the article brings out, no more blindly charging through boss battles for you!

Yeah, so now that we know that Sakaguchi won’t be retiring after he finishes The Last Story (which, admittedly, would have been an unparalleled irony), we can focus on the blogs he’s been doing lately – they contain several insights into his experiences working with Nintendo over the years. DToid’s front page has some additional media as well.

The original Disgaea is being released yet AGAIN for the PSP – well, not really, it’s just being localized for Chinese markets under the name Disgaea Portable. No idea if there are any differences from the existing versions, aside from the language…

Fans of the Izuna roguelikes might want to take a moment of silence: series developer Ninja Studio appears to be no more.

There have been a small handful of blogs from male players about going through the female protagonist’s story in Persona 3 Portable, but how about one from an actual real-life female? Here it is, if you’re interested.

While Panzer Dragoon Saga sort of straddles the “obscurity” line, I couldn’t resist linking you to Gamer Limit’s recent “Retro Reunion” article, which offers a look back at this most legendary of eBay offerings.

No pics of it are available as of yet, but rejoice anyways – Totori from (duh) Atelier Totori is getting a figure!

Glad to see that the front page is continuing to cover Flip’s Twisted World, as I’m certainly hoping it turns out well – their latest several write-ups feature a few more words from the developer on getting the game to market and noticed in a platformer-unfriendly environment, its similarities (and more importantly its differences) with Super Mario Galaxy, and why they chose the Wii in the first place.

More promising news for PAL players – Solarobo has been rated in Australia, so you may well have a new helping of Waffle (or some facsimile thereof) coming your way soon! Meanwhile, Japan is getting the game on October 28th, and will receive a DVD for pre-ordering it; if they fork over some extra yen for the collector’s edition they get an artbook and soundtrack too.

If you look at this page you’ll discover that Lost in Shadow has a new trailer, new screenshots…and a new (later) release date of January 4th. (DToid coverage here.)

Go figure – Battleblock Theater is perhaps the game from The Behemoth that I’m most interested in, and it’s gotten by far the least coverage of anything they’ve released up to this point. Thankfully Joystiq lifted the lid on the title recently, if only for a short time.

On the other hand, I haven’t been keeping up with Explodemon too closely, but if you follow this link you’ll find some fresh images and a narrowed-down “Q4 2010” release date for it. By the way, the developers would like to see the game released on platforms other than the PS3 eventually, but for now they’re focusing on a single platform. (DToid coverage here.)

This really late review of Trauma Team isn’t going to help Kotaku shake its reputation for perpetual lateness, but it’s still worth checking out if you haven’t played the game yet.

I wish I’d gotten wind of this a few [i‘Magnet School[/i] posts ago, but better late than never – check out Piyotama, a puzzler that should be out for the PSP by the time you read this. Woulda made a handy reference in the “Ochige 201” lesson, methinks… (DToid coverage here.)

Looks like Valve isn’t jumping onto the current gaming trend bandwagon, at least not just yet – Portal 2 will not support motion controls or 3D, though future titles might. Also, is your Companion Cube plushie feeling lonely these days? Why not let him chat with a GlaDOS sphere? Seriously, they talk!

While PlayStation Plus hasn’t exactly been rolling in accolades so far, one point in its favor is that you can get Critter Crunchfor free on it.

If you want a look at the new “Mars” table in Zen Pinball, click this video.

Well, it’s kinda-sorta like Braid, so in retrospect it’s pretty obvious that this would start happening – both the front page and the c-blogs are searching for some semblance of meaning in Limbo. So, uh, good luck with that. Meanwhile, others are making more productive uses of their time.

The front page certainly isn’t letting up on its Castlevania coverage either, unleashing its review of Encore of the Night, as well as some more screenshots of [i]Harmony of Despair.

C-blogger LK404 shares a few tips on how to best enjoy your copy of Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Hmm, looks like my “How-To” series has a bit of competition…

Unless you count some cute art and this papercraft, there’s no directly Okami-related news this week, but then again you probably wouldn’t feel like showing up either, if you were taking a stroll with Bayonetta.

A little bird told me that if you go to direct2drive and use the promo code “ThanksRaynor”, you get five bucks off any game there. The site has various games so I put it here in the “Misc.” segment, but I’ll recommend you check out their shmups and other “shooter-ish” games like Flying Red Barrel and Noitu Love 2.